We recently had our very first family trip to Hong Kong to celebrate Ava's birthday. Mr. T and I thought about it after Ava's first birthday and we both agreed that we are going to Disneyland for her second. Seeing our little darling's progress, we knew exploring Hong Kong will be worth it already. While our trip had its kinks, we still think it was a huge success. Looking at our photos and videos afterwards made us realize more how much Ava really enjoyed it.
For first-time parents who are travelling with their little tot for the first time, I am sharing some of the things we did that made this trip really, really awesome.
1. Research Well.
There are a lot of readily available guides and articles online that you can find over the internet. Read as much as you can to help you decided which places you'd want to go. I always find
Lonely Planet's Guide to Hong Kong helpful every time I visit because of its comprehensive guides and suggestions.
2. Plan Your Itinerary.
Make an itinerary that's feasible for your family instead of trying to squeeze everything just so you can visit as many places as you want. Remember that toddlers can be a little impatient, moody and cranky. Putting a lot of activities in your itinerary without considering these things can result to a meltdown for the whole family.
Part of planning your itinerary is becoming familiar to the area where you're staying at. Check where the nearest MTR stations are, bus routes and other transportation services. Going around Hong Kong is fairly easy, you can always go old school and use tourist maps which are conveniently available in the airport and probably in your hotel's reception desk. But with today's digital age, there are a lot of apps readily available for your smart phones and tablets. The apps that helped us the most is
Google Maps and the
MTR Tourist. Most establishments in Hong Kong offer free wi-fi services already but for those times that we could not connect, Google Maps'
offline map services came in handy. The MTR Tourist app is also a pretty neat app because you can easily see your train route just by plotting your place of origin and your destination.
3. Prepare Your Documents.
Obtaining a passport is a lot easier now compared to before. You can simply set up an appointment through the
DFA's official website and choose the schedule that's convenient for you. Most countries require a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the date of departure, check if all passports are within the six months validity. Better be safe than be surprised during airport check-in right?
In applying for your baby's passport, for 1 year and below, setting up an appointment is not necessary since you can go straight to DFA and you'll be directed to the priority lane. But it's still more convenient to set up an appointment so you can have the application form filled out and printed already.
4. Pack Light and Pack Smart.
Having a baby or a toddler in tow often times indicate packing the whole house (if possible) just to make sure that you have everything you need. This is really not necessary. Identify the basic things that you really need to bring and check if it will be more convenient if you just buy once you reach your destination. As your baby grows older, the smaller your baby bag becomes.
Check the weather so you can bring the appropriate clothes. Since Hong Kong's weather is really not far from the Philippines' we still brought clothes that we normally wear. We just packed a couple of extra sets just in case the weather gets colder.
5. Prepare Your Gears.
And by that I meant, strollers, baby carriers and other baby essentials. While your toddler is already eager to explore and walk rather than be carried, there will still be a lot of carrying that will happen. Mr. T and I both love babywearing so it wasn't really something new to us. Train rides and strolls with a lot of people were more manageable with babywearing compared to pushing a stroller. For leisure walks and when Ava naps in the middle of our itinerary, the stroller did it's job. I would recommend choosing a very handy and lightweight stroller. Earlier this year, we got a Maclaren Volo in preparation for this trip. It's perfect for travel because of it's size, weight and design. Practice using your gears first should you decide to purchase new ones specifically for your upcoming trip.
6. Enjoy.
Don't forget that there's really no perfect trip, especially for a family who's travelling for the first time. There will always be glitches along the way and how you will react to it will make or break your trip. So it's best to opt for the more positive approach for an equally positive result.
These are the things that I think made this trip awesome. Of course I'm sure there are a lot more but I'm still trying to recall. On my next post, I will add more to these as I share our four-day itinerary.
Nursing never has and never will look just one way for every mother and child.
